Honored as a Titan of the Industry at CMSC 2024
At the 2024 CMSC 40th Anniversary Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, API Metrology founder and CEO Dr. Kam Lau took the stage as one of three industry pioneers honored as a Titan of the Industry. His keynote traced the full arc of laser tracking technology — from a government lab prototype in the early 1980s to the AI-powered integrated metrology systems shaping manufacturing today. For those who work in precision measurement, this is a presentation not to be missed.
From a Patent to an Industry Standard
Dr. Lau recounted the pivotal milestones that defined both the technology and API as a company: the 1987 patent, the founding of API, the landmark Boeing evaluation that validated laser tracking against traditional jigs and fixtures, and the development of breakthrough techniques such as Volumetric Error Compensation (VEC) — which delivers up to 14 times accuracy improvement in robotic applications. These were not incremental advances, but defining moments that helped establish laser tracking as the standard across aerospace, automotive, shipbuilding, and precision manufacturing worldwide.
The Next Generation of Measurement Technology
Today, API continues to lead the industry forward. Our newest developments — the iLT laser tracker and the 9D LiDAR — represent a new generation of measurement technology defined by artificial intelligence, GPU-driven processing, and seamless integration into automated manufacturing environments. This vision, which API refers to as Integrated Metrology, points toward a future where precision measurement operates continuously, intelligently, and in direct communication with the production process itself.
Watch the Full Keynote Now
Dr. Lau’s CMSC 2024 keynote is a rare opportunity to hear the full story of the laser tracker directly from its inventor — spanning more than four decades of innovation, candid reflections on the challenges overcome along the way, and a forward-looking vision for the future of 3D metrology. We invite you to watch the full presentation and experience firsthand the insight and expertise that have made API Metrology a global leader in dimensional measurement.
